


Future

by annaliesegrace



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-07-24 05:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7495824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annaliesegrace/pseuds/annaliesegrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens after they are picked up off the pods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So with the news that PR2 is official and John Boyega joined the cast I went back and rewatched the move - a couple times. Heh. And then this wouldnt get out of my damn head. So I wrote it. I hope you enjoy.

The adrenaline had started to wear off somewhere between getting plucked off the escape pods and 3 miles out from the Shatterdome.

Mako had slowly slumped against his side, her head resting on his shoulder, his tilted back against the hard metal interior of the helicopter. The onboard medics had already given them a quick once over and declared them basically healthy except for too numerous to count bumps and bruises along with possible cracked ribs for Raleigh and any lingering effects from oxygen deprivation for them both. A full work up would be required, Raleigh hated that part.

They were going to be in pain in the morning.

And not just the physical kind.

Raleigh glanced over at his partner as the dome came into view – she was staring at home with a wistful, sad expression. He understood.

They had survived but so many had not. Pentecost and Chuck had not.

But the world had.

After setting down Choi and Hansen alone met them on the heli-pad; they both appreciated the gesture, a crowd would have been far too much to take in. Mako had immediately walked up to Herc and embraced him careful of his arm, murmuring into his ear, the older man nodding and holding back tears while holding her tightly. Each had lost the most important person in their lives when Striker detonated. Though Mako appeared to be taking it far better than the new Marshal who looked emotionally worn out on top of physically exhausted.

Meanwhile Tendo had pulled Raleigh into a quick congratulatory hug, complete with back clapping and small smiles.

When the other pair separated, Herc sniffled then straightened up. “Get those drive suits off; maybe take a shower, yeah? Then hit the mess if you feel up to it, pretty sure the masses want to see you two.” Then he smiled ever so slightly before pinning Raleigh with a glare. “But you must hit medical for your full post-mission workup first thing tomorrow.”

Mako responded for both of them, “Yes, sir.”

It was a generous offer, after missions like theirs medical would have been the first stop but they had been triaged on the helicopter and Herc knew medical was the last place they wanted to be. Suddenly Raleigh stepped forward and pulled the other man into a quick, but solid hug, expressing in 5 seconds what he couldn’t say in words: I’m sorry, I may not have liked him but he gave all for us and Thank You.  
Pulling away Herc turned toward the doors leading back into the Dome and said just loud enough to hear, “Good job.”

Tendo disappeared with the new Marshal, a barely audible, “See you in the mess,” thrown out as he went.

The drivesuit prep area was a large circular room where a team of people fit and secured them into and out of the suits, but had an anteroom with separate shower stalls and dressing rooms; some teams moved through the shower and locker rooms together, others preferred some solitude either before or after spending time in their partner’s heads.

The Gipsy Danger team with members from Striker Eureka, met them in the prep area, quickly stripping them of the heavy, bloody, and beaten down suits. The task was completed in absolute silence until Raleigh stood in just his boxers and Mako in her underwear and a tank top. The drift still moved between them so he could feel her pulling away, disappearing into grief.

“We got it from here, thanks,” Raleigh said as way of indicating they needed privacy and new uniforms were left on a narrow table near the locker rooms as the team members departed without ever having spoken a word to them. They understood, they had all lost pilots before.

“Hey,” he said and pulled her into him, wrapping his large arms around her much smaller body, she came to him easily, her arms crossed and tucked neatly between their chests, her face buried in his neck, breath hot on the skin there. “It’s….” he wants to say ok, but it wasn’t true, not even close. So instead, “It’ll get better.”

Because it will, he knows it will.

She sniffled and her arms unwound, wrapping themselves around his waist, pulling them tighter together, as close as they could physically be. For a long while she was silent, until she wasn’t anymore and a half sob escaped her. Raleigh could sense her holding back, trying to be strong, not show emotion.

“It’s just us,” he said into her hair. “It’s ok, don’t hold it in.”

With that the damn broke (he feels it in the drift first) and suddenly she’s sobbing and he’s holding her tight as he dares (and his ribs will let him). Hot tears fall onto his bare chest and Raleigh aches for her (with her), they had both lost so damn much in this war it wasn’t fair. All Raleigh can do is thank the heavens he didn’t lose her too – that would have been too much.

Eventually the sobs slowed to sniffles then ceased altogether and she reluctantly pulled away, though kept both arms wrapped loosely around him.

“Let’s get cleaned up and see what kind of party is going on out there, yeah?” he asks. Maybe the distraction will be good for them – something to pull them out of their headspace.

Mako smiled through the tears and nodded, moving toward one set of shower stalls, he sensed she wanted to be alone and moved toward the other.  
“See you in ten,” she said.

Raleigh looked down at himself, covered in dirt, debris, some blood and a significant amount of cooling sweat before responding. “How about fifteen?”

She laughed lightly and nodded agreement.

Fifteen minutes later he was waiting outside the locker room she had used, waiting. It took another five before Mako appeared, clean and dressed in the same PPDC blue pants and tank top he wore, her shoes in one hand. There was a quip about her taking so long on the tip of his tongue but when he saw her red rimmed eyes he understood why and bit it back.

Then something caught his attention on her right shoulder, circuitry burns, red and inflamed, clearly from when Raiju had torn off Gypsy’s arm; instantly his hand darted out, pausing inches above the skin. It disturbed him that she was marked like he was now.

“You should have medical look at that.”

She followed his eyes to the new marks. “I will…tomorrow.”

He frowned, she gave him a stern look and there was a sense of _leave it alone_ across the drift.

Sighing his displeasure but not saying anything else about it he nodded toward the mess. “I think I hear music all the way out here. C’mon.”

Quickly she donned her shoes and without thinking they joined hands and walked through now deserted halls. It was an odd sensation; the dome was never without people wandering around, even in the dead of night.

As they approached the mess the music Raleigh thought he heard became louder, thunderous really, and was joined with the sounds of people talking.

The second they entered, hands still clasped together, the talking all but stopped but this time not because they had screwed up but because they had saved the world, god dammit. No more would giant kaiju come up through the depths of the ocean to terrorize.

And then a whoop went up and they were being crowded with people, shaking their hands, hugging them tightly, eventually pulling them away from each other. At some point they were each handed a drink.  
Mako downed the first with impressive speed. Nice, wandered across the drift and she caught his smile across the room. She smiled back as a second drink was thrust into her hand.

If the adrenaline from earlier had worn off it didn’t matter, they were re-energized by the crowd, by the atmosphere and the excitement of the crews. The celebration was tinged with sorrow, they all felt it deeply but relief joined it, Stacker Pentecost and Chuck Hansen would be the last pilots to lose their lives in a Jaeger while defending the world.

 

There was joy in that.  
For the better part of the next two hours they remained separate, working their way through the crowd, accepting congratulations and profound thanks. It was a new world because of them. But because of the drift hangover they still felt each other, every emotion – they couldn’t suddenly read minds but he knew when melancholy washed over her and she knew when he downed another shot and felt the burn. It helped ease the ache they felt to be closer.

He also knew the second it all became too much for her and in an instant cut short a conversation with Crimson Typhoon’s head mechanic, bowing out gracefully but quickly and moving to her side.

The second his hand made contact with her lower back, Mako relaxed. She had been standing by herself, alone for the first time since they’d walked into the room, when he found her.

“C’mon,” he whispered and she easily slipped her hand into his, following as he guided them along the outskirts of the party, catching only Tendo’s eye to let him know they were leaving. At least he thought only Tendo, what he missed was Herc Hansen watching them go with a wry grin.

They slipped out of the mess and Raleigh lead them to a back stairwell behind the kitchens, confused but curious she followed and any attempts to figure out where he was headed by using the drift were rebuffed with a sense of it’s a surprise.

Mako Mori did not like surprises, but followed.

The stairs seemed to go on forever and partway up she slowed and he stopped, turning to face her from the step above.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Yes,” It was quick, unequivocal. _More than anyone_ , floated between them.

“Ok, almost there,” he replied and gently tugged on her hand, the other held a mostly full drink.

Another two flights and he was pushing open a door and Mako sucked in a deep, surprised breath. They were at the very highest point of the facility, a small landing near the top of a lighted spire. The landing was oval and wrapped around the spire, maybe fifty feet from one end to the other, there was a glass railing about four feet high around the entire area. Maybe it had once been a lookout, now it was a hideout for the saviors of the world.

Perfectly in sync they sat down next to the door, their backs pressed against the cool metal of the structure, sides pressed against each other from shoulder to hip. It was an impressive view of Hong Kong and the Harbor, the sun was just about down, the last bits of blue and pink giving way to black night and the lights of the city.

How had she never known this was here? How had he?

_Tendo_

Of course.

“It is…lovely up here,” she said quietly, eyes fixed on the water. “Peaceful.”

His eyes were fixed on her then shifted to follow her gaze. “It is.”

Comfortable silence followed where they continued to marvel at the smooth, calm waters.

His voice broke the quiet. “So, what do two Jaeger pilots do after there are no more kaiju to fight?”

She found his hand, threaded their fingers together and shrugged. “Tomorrow there will be medical tests and reports. After that? Who knows?”

“Media,” he sighed annoyed and she nodded.

They both knew it, and the enormity of what they’d done finally sank in. There would be media interviews, and photo ops and an endless string of talk shows. They saved the damn world and everyone would want a piece of them. Those in charge who had taken a PR beating when the walls didn’t work but a small rag-tag group they’d decommissioned did would send them all over the world as damage control.  
Maybe they could disappear into Alaska.

_Warmer._ She thought.

Then he knew… _Australia._

_Yes._

It was assumed wherever they went it would be together, never a question, never even a discussion. The drift had strengthened a bond they didn’t know had even existed until that moment in the kwoon (though maybe Raleigh knew the second he saw her on the heli-pad for the first time and could barely keep his eyes off her). When he thought about it, they barely knew each other – it had been what, not quite three days since he’d landed in Hong Kong and yet with the drift they knew each other better than anyone.

Rarely did pilots drift with strangers – typically it was family: spouses, siblings, parents and children, there was a baseline of shared memories that made the drift stronger. But they’d had one of the strongest drifts on record, never moving out of sync once after their first failed test (but even that was because Mako was so in tuned with the machine), nearly unheard of.

Maybe there was such a thing as destiny, he thought.

She chuffed at him and finished the remains of her drink.

“How many of those did you have?” he asked and looked over.

Mako stared at the now empty cup and shrugged. “Stopped counting after three.”

Raleigh raised his eyebrows at her, impressed, they had been strong drinks.

It’s…odd, isn’t it?” he asked. “Knowing the war is over. That there can be a…future.”

“Very,” she agreed and looked over, he was staring down at her.

His eyes flickered to her lips then back to her brown eyes, unsure what to do; she solved the problem by reaching up and pressing her lips to his.  
It was sweet, almost chaste, and they pulled away a moment before meeting in the middle again for another kiss, this one heated by the emotions flowing through and between them.

Before he could mention that their positions weren’t really conducive for kissing, Mako had moved, straddling his lap with a wicked grin.

Slim fingers threaded through his hair, pulling gently at the strands, urging him to kiss her again. He did. He could deny her nothing.

In between breathless kisses, his hands found purchase on her hips, fingers digging into the material of her pants. Raleigh could do this all damn night; her lips were unbelievable soft but firm, insisting. His hands slipped under her tank top to explore the planes and soft skin of her back.

When his lips pulled away from hers she made an unhappy noise until they found the soft skin under her jaw and she sighed happily, her hands sliding out of his hair, across broad shoulders and down his chest, fingers exploring.

His lips continued a path down her throat as her fingers danced across his abs, and when his tongue dipped into the hollow of her throat she arched her body toward him, almost begging for more. The movement pressed their hips together and she rubbed against him, trying to find relief for an ache he was all too familiar with.

For some reason this brought Raleigh to his senses and he gently pushed her away, soothing the action with a light kiss to her temple.

“Mako,” he whispered. “Hey, stop.”

His partner pulled away, though still in his lap, and looked at him curiously. “What is wrong?” With her messed hair, swollen lips and desire filled eyes, staying the course to stop was the hardest thing he’d ever done.

“Nothing, God, nothing. Just…let’s slow down, ok? It’s been a pretty intense couple days and we need to cool off, decompress.”

An eyebrow rose at him in amusement. “I thought this was how you decompressed.”

Christ, she had been in his head, knew that he and Yancy often hit bars after a fight, or a sparring session, and he’d bedded more women then he’d care to admit to.

“Yeah, well, not with you.”

There was softness in her expression as she slipped off him gracefully but once settled back next to him went in for another jab.

“You have not always been so…discerning, Ranger.”

 

He groaned in almost embarrassment. No, he hadn’t. But then a memory from the drift floated back to him and he looked at her.  
“Yeah? Well, neither have you, Miss Mori…” she sucked in a breath but he continued, “Chuck Hansen, really?”

She flushed slightly. “We never!”

“You came damn close! More than once even!”

There was that softness again in her expression. “We are – were - the same age. On the same bases. He was not always so…angry.”

“He was a damn good ranger,” Raleigh said and gripped her _hand._

“They all were,” she replied and squeezed back.

They were silent a bit, the desire had cooled for the moment but there was a hum, a need, that still existed between them. It would not be denied for long.

“Are you ok?” he finally asked.

“I am…ok,” she said, hearing what he wasn’t saying. “The Marshal – Sensei – he is at peace now, maybe with Tamsin. No more pills or scans or bad news. And he saved the world. It is a fitting, noble end.”  
Raleigh made a noise of understanding and raised their joined hands, kissing her knuckles.

“How long until someone comes looking for us?” she eventually asked.

“When we don’t show up in medical?” Raleigh ventured with a shrug.

They stayed up on the roof for another three hours, just watching the world, finally at peace. Walking back to their quarters they heard the party still going strong in the mess, there were occasional people roaming the halls back to their own rooms, most looked like they’d had too much of the punch.

Raleigh suspected tomorrow would be a quiet day on base.

As they turned into the short hall with their rooms there was a silent agreement and he guided her through his door.

“Sleep,” he said firmly as they crossed the threshold.

She nodded, exhaustion finally seeping into her bones.

With little fanfare they stripped back town to underwear and tank tops and sank into his bed on their sides, Raleigh against the wall, Mako’s back pressed solidly to his front.  
Tomorrow it would be a whole new world and Raleigh smiled, it was finally one with a future.

_END?_


	2. Future Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My deepest apologies for taking so long with this. I started, hated what I wrote, started over then real life took away my writing time (how rude!) I hope you enjoy!

Despite some anger (mostly directed at Herc when he accompanied them) from the head doctor for not coming in earlier, the trip to medical was uneventful. No radiation poisoning or unknown pathogens, no residual effects from the oxygen deprivation, seemingly no neurological issues for him (though he had to go back in 3 months) and the speculated cracked ribs were simply badly bruised.

Overall a good start to day one of the future.

If only he could find his partner; they’d been separated in the medical bay and, lacking in previous neurological damage and needing less stringent testing, Mako had been discharged hours before his final sign off and escape.

She wasn’t in her room (or his), operations, research, the mess or the bays. Frustrated he’d checked the Marshals office, also with no luck. Probably not-so coincidentally, Herc and Tendo were also AWOL, though he’d found Max hanging out in the Marshal’s small conference room where Herc had clearly set up shop (either unwilling or unable to use the Marshals official office).

Frowning, he was about to give up the search when the sudden feel of salty ocean air drifted over his skin.

_Gotcha._

Stepping out onto the helo pad, he found her quickly; standing by the railing, back to him staring out into the now silent ocean. The area was all but abandoned – everyone was probably still nursing a hangover.

“Hey,” he said while resting his forearms on the rail next to her.

Her only reply was a small smile.

For a while they stared out into the ocean in comfortable silence, occasionally a light breeze would waft over them, carrying the sounds of music from the harbor to them.

“Everything ok?” he finally asked. “I went looking for you after I got discharged.”

Finally she looked at him, Raleigh couldn’t quite discern her expression and the drift wasn’t providing any clues.

“Yes, fine.”

Fine was a stretch, there was an underlying sadness that was obvious without their connection. Raleigh reached out behind her back, placing his large hand on the juncture of her neck and shoulder, fingers gently caressing the skin over her collarbone, his thumb running up and down the side of her neck. He could almost physically feel the stress disappear.

“I went to Sensei’s private office to…it doesn’t matter.” She lifted her hand which had been below the rail and obscured from Raleigh’s sight. “I found this on the desk.”

It was a letter sized envelope with “Mr. Becket” written in precise handwriting on it. _Proper even in death,_ Raleigh thought.

“There was one for me as well,” she said and handed over the envelope.

Releasing his hold on her, he took it, staring intently at his name. In his last moments before stepping into that Jaeger, the Marshal had taken the time to leave him a personal message; for some reason that touched Raleigh more than he expected. Raleigh and the Marshal had never had a great relationship; it seemed Pentecost merely put up with his shit because of the kind of Ranger he was. The man showed no outward affection toward anyone, not even his adopted daughter. Stacker Pentecost was a military man through and through, Raleigh was military only as much as required so he could pilot a jaeger.

“Would you like me to leave?” she asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“No, no. It’s ok. Stay, please.”

He opened the envelope and pulled out one sheet of paper with the same precise handwriting, two paragraphs. More than he expected, really.

 

 _Mr. Becket,_ (now that he thought about it, the Marshall had never used his given name)

_If Miss Mori found this letter then I have not survived, and with any luck you have managed to close the breach and made it back. Despite our differences, and there are many, never for one second have I ever doubted your abilities as a Ranger or commitment to being one. Never did I think you would not give 100% to our mission and if for some reason the breach remains open I believe you will be a needed asset in the continuing war._

_I ask one thing of you, Ranger. As you have surely noted, Mako is not one to need someone to look after her, she is more than capable of handling herself. But, she is young and has spent her life on a quest for vengeance and I wonder if without that focus, that need, she may become…lost. If she does lose her way, provide a beacon for her to find a way back. You share a connection unknown to anyone else in the world now; a connection I didn’t think was possible between two strangers. It will serve you both well._

_Regards,_

_Stacker_

 

Raleigh wasn’t an idiot, he could read between the lines, Stackers request, to help Mako transition into a life post-vengeance was as much for his benefit as hers. They needed each other now, a constant in what would prove to be an ever changing world.

“Sneaky bastard,” he mumbled and folded back up the letter, slipping it into the envelope.

Mako’s eyebrows rose slightly at him but she smiled as well. “Anything you want to share?” she asked.

“Nope,” he replied and she nodded. “Now what?” he asked, feeling more like the lost one – he literally didn’t know what to do with himself.

“The Council is reviewing a proposal I creted for the Jaeger program if the breach was ever closed. We should hear back in the next few days their decision.”

“And this proposal?” he asked with a grin, “Will it need pilots?”

She smiled, knowing where he was going with this, and nodded. “It will.”

 

Ten minutes later they were facing off in the kwoon again, the sense of déjà vu washing over them both - only this time there was no audience, just the two of them staring at each other, determined. They both felt comfortable in this room, the physical and mental aspects of the fight enough to push any other thoughts out of their heads.

Except just before they bowed to indicate the start of the fight Mako said casually, “The press will be here tomorrow, there is a conference in the afternoon.”

Raleigh startled at the words and stared at her. _Damn_ , he hated the press. “That was fast.”

She shrugged. “Herc had to convince them not to come today.” Then bowed, which he followed and they each swung their bo’s around a moment before stopping and taking their appropriate stances.

As he had done before, Raleigh made the first move, which she easily blocked and parried back, he evaded and their staffs clicked together for several minutes before Raleigh took advantage of an opening and tapped at her ribs.

Frowning, Mako straightened up.

“I assume we will have to be at this press conference,” Raleigh asked while resetting.

“Mmmm hmmm,” was her response as she approached him cautiously.

Unthinking, Raleigh rolled his eyes and it was her turn to take advantage, stopping her bo an inch from his temple. “Concentrate,” she mocked and stepped back.

Frustrated at his own lapse, Raleigh took a deep breath and focused, pushing the thoughts of press conferences and media and relentless questions out of his head.

Within seconds they were back at each other, staffs clashing, bodies moving in unison, pushing each other to the edge of the mat, then back to the middle where they pulled apart for a brief second.

“What about Herc?” he asked while taking a swing at her legs that she easily jumped over.

Upon landing, Mako swung her staff at him, which Raleigh easily deflected and she sighed in annoyance. “For now, he is still Marshal, though Herc has made it very clear he is only staying on until they can find a suitable replacement.”

Raleigh could understand that, the war was over and Herc Hanson had lost his wife and son, the Australian deserved retirement into obscurity if that’s what he wanted. That said, Raleigh would miss the older man who had always treated him as an equal, never the “new kid” or, more recently, the “wash out”.

“And us?” he asked, backing up to avoid a swipe at his midsection.

They circled each other while she answered, “That will depend on if they accept my proposal.”

“Which was?” he asked and feigned to her left before tapping her right shoulder.

Stepping back to reset again, Mako gave him an annoyed look, frustrated she’d fallen for his feint and lost a point for it. “Using scaled down Jaegers for reconstruction. Single pilot…if they can get the tech to work.”

“So, more Jaegers,” he smiled widely and shuffled toward her as he did the first time they’d fought. “More pilots.”

She nodded and approached him, determined to score next. “More pilots who will need to be trained.”

Futures coming into possible focus, they concentrated on the fight, moving ever faster in time with each other. Mako did get the next point, but Raleigh scored soon after and they were tied again.

They battled back and forth intensely, pushing each other more than anyone ever had. After twenty solid minutes of fighting they were sweaty and exhausted and without a clear winner. The desire between them also hummed, rising with each pass or incidental contact and Raleigh would have sworn he felt the drift again, connecting them, but that shouldn’t have been possible. The drift was a construct of the Jaeger connection, and there were no more Jaegers. But there _were_ memories of hers just pushing at the edges of his mind, things he certainly had not seen before.

Maybe it was an extreme case of hangover, fueled by the adrenaline from the fight.

As they mutually stepped apart from each other for a short break, Mako looked at him confused – clearly she felt the same thing he did.

“Did you-“ she asked slowly, unsure.

“Yeah, what…what was that?”

“I don’t know…” she frowned deeply, then thought out loud. “Drift hangover is very real but fades and you cannot drift without the neural bridge. Curious.”

“Try again?” he asked and adopted proper stance.

She mirrored him.

Once again they moved together fluidly and once again as the fight went on they each felt it, that sense of having someone else in their head, of memories just tickling at the edge of their subconscious. It was a heady, intimate feeling, one Raleigh never wanted to let go of.

As the fight raged on, the feelings became clearer and the associated memories more concrete – they blended together seamlessly and they both watched Mako deck Chuck Hansen after he dared to boast about making out with the Marshal’s daughter, the moment she was accepted into the ranger program, Raleigh’s horror at watching his brother pulled from the Conn Pod, the minutes he’d spent in agony moving the enormous machine himself, the feeling of relief when Raleigh’s pod had broken the surface of the Pacific and then fear that he had not survived the trip back, and finally, a flash of the ante verse, then crushing feeling of loss when Striker had detonated and she had once again lost her parent.

That seemed to knock Mako off her stride and her moves became sloppy, a bit slow. Claiming exhaustion (which wasn’t untrue), Raleigh called an end to the match and they fell to the floor near each other on their backs, staffs dropped to the side.

“Wow,” he panted out.

“That was…unusual,” she agreed. “The drift should not be possible outside the neural bridge.”

“And yet-“ he said, grinning. “Still don’t believe in destiny?”

Again she chuffed and fell silent, Raleigh turned his head to look at her, sadness was radiating from her in waves. She was staring fixedly at a point on the ceiling of the kwoon, lost in thought. One of his hands tentatively reached out and his fingertips tapped her forearm.

“You ok?” he asked.

“I miss him already.” A simple statement, but powerful. Raleigh linked their hands, squeezing gently.

“I know,” he whispered.

Mako sighed. “He was already dying, slowly, in measures, but we thought there was more time. More…everything.”

There really wasn’t anything to say to that, Raleigh understood. Yancy wasn’t dying before he was ripped from the Conn Pod (and Raleigh’s life) but they were young and thought they were invincible. It had been Raleigh’s own cockiness that proved they weren’t.

“They are planning a memorial service…for everyone,” she said quietly, to the ceiling.

“Not surprised.”

“Sensei would not want a…production.”

As with all pilots who died in a Jaeger, Yancy Becket had gotten a service – but it had been small, brief because there wasn’t time for anything else. But this, he knew, would be bigger; seven pilots gone, two survivors and the breach closed. The brass would want all the pomp and circumstance they could appropriately get away with.

Stacker Pentecost would have hated it.

Raleigh made a mental note to ask Herc to lobby the Council for something smaller, private, maybe with a public memorial later, it was the least the Council could do for them. People here were still grieving, Mako and Herc more than anyone. Maybe _he_ should make the request instead, save Herc the trouble.

“That would not be a good idea,” Mako said with a light laugh in her voice and Raleigh remembered the hangover, clearly she’s sensed his intentions.

“Why not?” he asked. “I can be very persuasive.”

Mako rolled to her side, pulling their still joined hands up toward her chest between them and smiled gently. “I am not sure they would respond to your kind of persuasion.”

Also turning to his side, Raleigh reached across the space between them and slowly stroked her arm. “Ok, maybe you should do it. Better yet…you and Herc. Don’t see how they can say no.”

“Oh, they certainly can.”

Raleigh frowned, angry at the idea of a public spectacle so soon, not for himself but for her, and Herc.

Mako amended her statement, “But we will try.”

“Good,” he said but in the far recess of his mind, where he hoped she couldn’t see, Raleigh was already trying to figure out what to do if they denied their request.

They lapsed into another comfortable silence, his hand still smoothing over her arm and shoulder, her free hand coming to rest on his chest, fingers bunching the material of his t-shirt.

After a while, Mako broke the silence, “What was it like? Over there?” In the drift she’d gotten just the barest of hints but Raleigh had pushed her away from the memory, trying to shield her.”

The request wasn’t all that surprising, she had been mostly unconscious when they’d crossed the breach and he’d ejected her before they had fully descended into the anteverse. Of course she would be curious.

But it wasn’t a world he was sure he could properly describe even if the vision was permanently burned into his memory.

“If you don’t mind….” she amended and he realized the long pause he had taken thinking about it had caused her to hesitate about even asking.

“I…I don’t mind at all. I just need to…try to put it into words.”

The hand that had been resting his chest moved up, stroking the line of his jaw, slipping into the hair at the nape of his neck, soothing his mind and focusing his thoughts.

“The sun…it filled almost the entire horizon, huge and dying, I think. There didn’t seem to be… solid ground. Not…not the way we think of it. Everything was on clouds or maybe it was haze. No green, no grass, no trees.” He frowned, positive he wasn’t doing it justice; there _had_ been a beauty to the world itself, if not the inhabitants. “The sky was pink and…orange, and there were blue bolts of electricity everywhere. Just arcing all over, the structures almost looked formed from clay.”

She nodded in satisfaction. “Do you think it was truly destroyed?”

It was a thought that had been on his mind as well, there were no guarantees really, who knew what a nuclear explosion would do somewhere they didn’t even understand the physics of. “God, I hope so.”

“We have both lost much in this war,” she said while shifting closer to him. “But we have also gained so much.” The implication was clear.

Raleigh looked over at her and smiled. “We have indeed.”

Her smile faltered slightly. “I thought I’d lost you as well, Raleigh; you were not breathing.”

“I’ll try not to do it again,” he quipped and reached over, cupping her cheek.

A half sob, half laugh bubbled up as her hand slipped from his neck back to his chest, they would be quite the sight if anyone walked into the kwoon in that moment.

Raleigh moved his hand from her face, down an arm and hopped it onto her waist where he squeezed gently, surprised when she twitched and a sense of _pain_ smashed toward him.

Frowning, and with her non-verbal permission, Raleigh pushed up the tank top she was wearing to expose her hip, which was covered in an enormous, brutal-looking bruise.

“Jesus-“ he exclaimed and allowed his fingers to draw the boundaries of the mark which stretched from her hip bone up to just above her lowest rib and wrapped around her side in both directions in a jagged, uneven pattern, parts of the bruise were deep purple, almost black mixed in with vibrant yellows and reds. “How?” he asked, wracking his mind trying to remember what could have caused it and how he had missed it the night before, then again he’d been pretty focused on the feel of her in his lap and not much else.

Eyes flitting down to the bruise a moment, Mako considered the question, unsure herself. “I do not know. But if I had to guess, maybe when we fell to earth.”

 _That_ had been a rough ride, from 50,000 feet up down to earth in under 3 minutes and the landing had been jarring, to say the least.

Telegraphing his intent to give Mako opportunity to stop him, Raleigh sat up – her hand falling from his chest – and leaned over, gently placing his lips at the very edge of the bruise near her hip. When he pulled away and looked at her, Mako had the ghost of a smile on her face.

Once more he leaned over, his lips now finding the circuitry burns on her shoulder – the ones that had bothered him so much the day before were now significantly less red and inflamed. Here he laid several gentle kisses, lips lingering at every touch to her sweat covered skin.

With a full, wide smile, Mako leaned into him as he pulled back from her shoulder, capturing his lips with her own. This time he gave into her fully, falling back to the mat and pulling her with him so she lay partially on top of him, their lips parting only long enough to take short, needed breaths.

Sensing the position was getting uncomfortable for her, Raleigh gently rolled them so she was on her back on the thick floor mats and he was hovering over her, his weight supported on forearms resting on either side of her head. The angle also gave him better access to her neck, which, as he recalled from the night before was a sensitive spot.

For several minutes they got lost in each other, her hands alternating between gripping his biceps and sliding into his hair, nails scratching his scalp. His lips explored all the exposed skin it could find, nipping gently between soft kisses, the contrast was driving her crazy – in a good way.

After several minutes, and with the desire increasing between them, Raleigh reluctantly pulled away from her, nuzzling her temple with his nose. ”Maybe not in the kwoon,” he whispered, voice hoarse from want. “All we’d need is Tendo walking in here and we’d never hear the end of it.”

She smiled widely at him. “Mr Choi does not always understand…discretion.”

Grinning he said, “Apparently neither do we.”

A blush appeared on her cheeks as fast as he could blink. “We should…slow down.” She parroted his words from the night before, but the some expression on her face told him she didnt entirely mean it.

So he called her on it. “I don’t think you want that, not really. But your innate propriety is telling you we should. Why? What’s the point? We saved the world, Mako. Let’s live a little. Who cares if people talk, they were going to anyway. I want this…you. _Us._ ”

A small smirk graced her face then she was in his space, hands framing his face, pulling him down for another heated kiss. When they separated he got up, holding out a hand toward her, which she took, allowing him to lift her from the floor. Grinning she tugged gently, leading him toward the door, urging him to follow her. To where he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter because he would.

Anywhere she wanted.

Because she was his future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.

**Author's Note:**

> I have an idea for picking up on day 2, should I bother?


End file.
